Research Director
INSERM - EFS
Dr. Catherine Léon (Ph.D.) is Research Director (DR) at the INSERM, the French National Institute for Health and medical Research. She obtained her PhD at Strasbourg University in 1993, working on adhesion molecules during embryonic development. She is currently working in Strasbourg UMR_S1255 (Inserm, Strasbourg University, Etablissement Français du Sang). Catherine Léon obtained an Inserm position in 1998 to study platelet physiopathology. She worked on the identification and pharmacology of platelet purinergic receptors as targets for antithrombotic therapy during 10 years. She then turned to the study of platelet formation, with an emphasis on the role of cytoskeleton. Platelets are produced by the bone marrow, a complex environment that strongly contributes to the normal megakaryopoiesis and thrombopoiesis as judged by the low efficacy of the process in vitro. Among the environmental cues, she focused on the impact of mechanobiological factors in the process of platelet formation. She showed that megakaryocytes sense these mechanical cues and differently adapt in vitro and in vivo. Identifying these novel signaling pathways may have potential relevance for future therapeutic strategies aiming at increasing platelet count in thrombocytopenic patients and for improvement of in vitro platelet formation.
Saturday, July 9, 2022
2:50 PM – 3:00 PM